Three words that strike fear into the soul of many email marketers:
Churn, low engagement, and lost sales.
It’s a challenge for veterans and newcomers alike to increase engagement and sales while keeping churn as low as possible.
As we all know, the probability of selling to an existing customer is over 60% while selling to a new customer is as little as 5%. And email marketing works is a potent channel for fostering brand loyalty and retention — so long as subscribers stay engaged.
Inactive email subscribers aren’t helping these metrics. In other words, being ghosted hurts — both in the professional and personal realm.
But there’s hope…
Why do I say that?
Because someone that’s subscribed but not engaging isn’t a hard failure. Rather, there’s a win there just waiting to happen.
And a well-crafted, finely tuned win-back email campaign can help you do just that: Win them back.
So in this article, I’m going to explore what it takes to attract and engage an inactive audience with your win-back email strategy. You’ll discover…
- What a win-back email is
- The importance of win-back emails for your marketing strategy
- The dos and don’ts of win-back email campaigns
- Some great win-back email examples
Let’s dive in.
What’s a win-back email campaign?
All win-back email campaigns have one uniting focus: To win back and re-engage subscribers who haven’t interacted with your emails for some time.
In other words, the goal of a win-back email campaign is to attract customers’ attention and compel them to take a desired action. That could mean clicking through on your email’s CTA, visiting your website, completing a purchase, or even just interacting with the email on any level at all.
Of course, this “desired action” will depend on the type of industry you’re in: For an ecommerce brand, that might mean making a purchase. For a SaaS product, that might look like becoming a more qualified lead. Open rates alone aren’t everything.
All this to say, win-back emails may be broad in approach, but common in intention.
The importance of win-back campaigns for email marketers
If a customer has been engaged in the past and has since stopped, there’s likely a reason.
From having a bad brand experience to being swayed by a competitor’s product to finding your email content unappealing overall (or, at the very least, not inspiring enough to click), there’s no shortage of things that can hamper your relationship, your deliverability, and thus your bottom line.
So as a marketer, win-back emails win big because they provide the opportunity to catch up on lost opportunities, rebuild brand loyalty, and boost customer lifetime value — all very healthy metrics to get trending up and to the right.
Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to re-engage said audience members, and a number of best practices to keep in mind while doing so. Let’s take a look…
Best practices for win-back emails
When crafting a win-back email, the typical engagement rules apply.
First and foremost: Tailor your email to the kind of person you’re targeting. According to Salesforce, 84% of customers say being treated like a person, not a number, is key to winning their business. So get in their head, and figure out what it would take to win you back if you were them in the first place.
That is to say, write like you’re addressing a single unengaged customer, not an entire list of faceless email addresses.
Compelling copy
When it comes to your win-back email copywriting, it’s all about knowing your angles:
“Rather than saying ‘We’ve lowered our shipping times’, we say ‘Get your order faster than ever before’”, says Ewelina Lachowicz, Senior CRM Specialist at Packhelp.
Like Lachowicz highlights, selling the benefit, not the feature, is paramount. Even if a customer doesn’t understand the ins and outs of your product, you can still win them back (and get them interested in learning or buying again!) by clearly stating how it will improve their life.
Tone consistency
Win-back emails are a great place to experiment with copy and tone of voice. Just make sure your copy doesn’t stray too far from your brand voice, so your subscribers have a consistent experience. Why? For starters, because brand consistency has been shown to increase brand visibility by 3.5x, with cross-platform consistency boosting revenue by 10-20% .
One goal
The whole point of a win-back email is to inspire your readers to take action. This works best when it’s one singular, defined action. So create a clear reminder of what’s on offer, then direct them towards one way to get it.
Clear CTA
Your call-to-action is key for bringing unengaged customers back into the fold. That’s why, it’s a good idea to use just one clear CTA button — no hyperlinked text or other places to click-through. According to Unbounce’s Conversion Road Trip, having one singular, standout CTA can boost clicks by 371%, and sales by 1,617%!
Good timing
Do you know what your customers’ average buying cycle is? That is, how long it takes them to move from product awareness, to consideration, to purchase?
If an unengaged customer has gone through two average buyer cycles and isn’t engaged, it’s a good time to remind them you exist. But like all things email marketing, don’t bombard subscribers — otherwise you’ll risk getting reported as spam, or having them unsubscribe.
First impressions
I probably don’t need to remind you of the importance of a good email subject line and preheader. But I will say, these elements are what subscribers see first. So if they haven’t been engaging with your emails, experimenting with your subject lines and preheaders can be a good place to start. Why not try something entirely different? That could mean using personalization tactics or intriguing, eye-catching copy. The inbox is your oyster.
Personalization
Email marketing and personalization. Name a more memorable duo.
But in 2022, personalized emails call for a lot more than just ‘Hey [NAME],’. You know what your customers bought, you know how long ago they bought it, and presumably you have some idea of other products that might speak to them, too. So use that knowledge to your advantage! I’ll dive deeper into this subject in the win-back email examples below.
P.S. Dyspatch’s Apps in Email, powered by AMP for Email technology, helps you go above and beyond in this department by serving live, dynamic, and interactive content every time. Learn more about AMP for Email’s personalization prowess here.
Win-back email examples
So, wondering what a winning win-back email looks like right about now? Here are a few sample emails I think are especially effective at re-engaging inactive customers.
Pro-tip: You don’t need to use just one of these formats in a win-back email. A modular email design system can help you mix and match elements to craft the perfect win-back email for your business.
The reminder email
The most simple form of win-back email is a gentle reminder. But simple doesn’t mean ineffective! It just means you’ve pared things down and got straight to the point.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- No fuss, no muss, and nothing lost in translation. Just a simple, “Hey, don’t forget about your incentive!”
- This reminder is combined with best-selling products, so there’s no need to click away from the email to find something else you might like.
The social proof email
Social proof and user generated content (UCG) are potent marketing tools: They prove your product is well-liked while simultaneously making viewers want to get in on the action, too. Plus, social proof and UCG comes in many forms — from product reviews and branded hashtags to content collaborations and offline events.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- The explicit call-out to the number of other designers who’ve joined demonstrates just how popular this service is.
- The single, bold CTA positioned directly under a persuasive quote = double the social proof.
The incentive email
Again, ask yourself why.
Why should your inactive subscribers re-engage with you?
Give them an appealing reason to do so, and you’ll find re-engagement rates go up effortlessly. Dollar value incentives consistently perform better than percentage-based ones, but remember that discount codes and coupons dig into your bottom line. If that’s an issue, you could always remind them instead what they stand to lose by disengaging.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- Displaying the difference between what one has earned vs. what they could earn by clicking the CTA is a smart, no-cost, approach that uses a money-based incentive.
- Paired with the subject line “ You could be earning $650 this week*, this email is sure to stand out in the inbox.
The product recommendation email
Personalization is important. So important it’s been shown to generate 6X higher transaction rates and revenue per email. That’s why, a re-engagement product recommendation email can work wonders.
With Dyspatch’s Apps in Email, powered by AMP for Email, you can send live product recommendations to your customers and get them engaged. Showing a new product that’s complementary to the one your inactive subscriber recently purchased is a great way to make their ears prick up.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- It suggests products based on the user’s purchase history.
- It includes an extra incentive (free shipping) to entice the user even further. This type of “extra” is a great last push!
The product update email
If you offer a SaaS product, odds are your software is always improving.
New versions have new features, integrations, and benefits that will help users do something quicker, easier, and better. And that’s something an unengaged customer might want to hear!
So remind people what they’re missing out on by showing them what’s new and what’s good under the hood.
Pro-tip: Only use product updates as part of a win-back campaign when it’s a significant update or integration. Otherwise, your email might have the opposite effect! That is, your subscribers might feel validated in their choice to disengage.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- The copy announces the benefit as well as the feature.
- It reminds the reader they’re due to reorder: “It’s been 200 days”.
The feedback email
Your goal is to re-engage customers — but that doesn’t mean they need to buy again immediately. If you can get them to tell you what they think through a survey, you can work on that feedback and get one step closer to a purchase.
In the end, even if they don’t buy, you can apply their feedback to win over future customers. You can even offer an incentive to get more feedback, and more sales.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- The text is straight to the point — and the email is primarily made up of text.
- It assures the reader the survey won’t take too much time directly before a single, unmissable CTA.
The last chance email
Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is a big motivator in the world of marketing. If you don’t do X, you’ll miss out on Y. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales really benefit from emails like these, as do product pre launches.
And when it comes to win-back emails, using this tactic can really set a fire under subscribers, especially if they’re price sensitive.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- Length: It’s short, both in terms of copy and size.
- The big, bold headline paired with the cost-saving incentive says everything it needs to.
The goodbye email
Goodbye emails are your very last shot.
Their goal? To win-back subscribers who weren’t tempted by any of your other win-back emails. Goodbye emails can also help you clean your list. (Something you should do regularly, as disengaged subscribers can actually hurt your deliverability.) If subscribers don’t click a link in this email, it’s time to make that goodbye official.
Why this win-back email won me over:
- The copy and tone are full of character while still giving a clear directive.
- The big, bold CTA urges action.
Win-back emails: If at first you don’t succeed, then try, try again
Like all things marketing, win-back emails work best when there’s plenty of testing and iterating involved. If your win-back emails aren’t doing the trick to re-engage lapsed customers, give the tactics in this blog a try and repeat the process.
But the main premise is this:
Don’t give up on inactive subscribers. Instead, try something new to re-engage them. It’s worth the effort — remember, winning a brand new customer is statistically much harder than keeping your existing ones coming back.
